MUM IS SO SMART. I know she’s doing a Masters degree, but I always thought that had something to do with being a dog master. But then today she was reading and typing for ages and then came out with this! I’m well impressed, have a read of this! Go mum!
“Having read the articles, I think many of the theorists provide useful frameworks for understanding identity. I think an overall blend of a lot of the points explains identity in terms of blogging, for me anyhow. I’ll explain why I think they are useful with reference to my own blog.
Starting with the Buckingham article, the first point that came up was whether identity is a singular or collective thing. I suppose for me and my blog, it is both. Because I am representing myself as my dog as my identity, but then I feel I am also representing myself as a blogger alongside other bloggers – my fellow course members and all of the other bloggers out there, and as a dog owner along with all of the other dog owners/enthusiasts out there.
With regards to Jenkins theory about how identity is a social process, I can apply this to my own blogging in terms of the commenting and feedback I receive. He explains that identity is accomplished through ongoing interactions with other people. So for example, on our first residential when the idea of blogging about my dog came into my head, John said “Why don’t you write the blog in the voice of your dog?”. This feedback allowed me to shape my own blogging identity. Furthermore, as I receive comments and verbal feedback from readers and friends, I get new ideas for what direction to take the blog in and develop my blogging voice further.
This leads on to Goffman’s theory of on-stage and back stage behaviour. I agree that your identity will be different in various situations. However, I don’t quite know which way round to apply this to blogging. Something that we previously discussed was about how you can be more honest with your blogging as you are more anonymous. So that would lead me to say this is your back stage behaviour. But, as you are presenting this blog to the world as who you are, perhaps you want to conform to societal norms and therefore write with on-stage behaviour. I think this can apply differently to each blogger and the type of person/writer they are or want to be.
Giddens talks about being self-reflexive and deciding who you want to be as a project. This definitely applies to me as a blogger as I have created an entire persona for my dog within my blog. Most of the things she says are my own voice, but she has her own opinions which I have created to suit the kind of sassy person I think she would be if she could speak.
I think that, if I were to be blogging as myself, I would have to agree with what Foucault says. I strongly believe that identity is a product of institutionalisation and consumerism. Sometimes I wonder if I am who I think I am, or just what the government wants me to be! So maybe this applies to some bloggers, but not to my own as Boo is very much her own dog. 🙂
This leads to Williams discussion of how technology is socially shaped and socially shaping. Blogging is designed as a social tool but then using it could make your identity what it is. For example, if you look at other blogs, perhaps you want to write in the same way.
Moving onto the Merchant reading, it states that engaging in any internet communication threatens your identity. In the previous reading, Bauman said identity is only an issue when it is threatened. Therefore, with regards to blogging, having our own secure identity is important. But if it is threatened, by surveillance viruses corrupting or stealing files… would we really want to put our identity online? It is a good thing I am not blogging as myself! (However I do have facebook etc so I suppose I haven’t really got around this…) But what I take from this, is that it is important to protect your own identity and not necessarily project your true self on the internet. For this very reason, I haven’t used any pictures of myself or any of my friends. I don’t want a crazy person who thinks Boo is really cute deciding to find me, stalk me and steal my dog!
Finally, Turkle explains that cyberspace allows new ways of performing identity. Well I definitely agree with this one. I have an entirely new identity in the form of my dog and perhaps some of the other people on this module have created somewhat different personas to who they truly are in their blogs.
Having looked at Dooce, it feels like the writer is totally projecting herself as she is, so it looks like the malleable, reflexive identity Giddens describes is present here. But then, is this really her true self? Or just Goffman’s on-stage behaviour? And Brian the pigeon’s blog is brilliant, a fellow animal blogger! I identify the best with this one as whoever has written it has created an entirely fictional persona for a pigeon, as I have with my dog. Although one thing I would say, is that most of what Boo says and thinks is what I think. So perhaps it is a reflection of my own persona. But it’s definitely within the lines of Gidden’s fluid identity.”
Wowsers. I feel like I know myself so much better now.
barkingboo 